An added benefit of my bird feeder the last two summers has been the sunflowers that spring up from sunflower seeds dropped by the birds into my potted plants. I've never had any luck trying intentionally to grow sunflowers, but these volunteers are pretty hardy.

I guess I have a reputation for having a bit of wanderlust, because although I've been on two vacations in the last six weeks, I've had a couple of people ask me this week when I'm taking my next trip. I don't have anything planned, but I do have a couple ideas.

I've thought about maybe hitting Italy in the fall. It's been 21 years since my last trip to Europe. My, how time flies . . . This remains a possibilty, circumstances permitting.

More typical of how I come up with vacation plans though, is the following. I enjoy the Scotland based mysteries of M.C. Beaton featuring Hamish MacBeth, set in the Scottish Highlands. I learned through my membership in a fans of British Mysteries group on Ravelry that the BBC made a series of tv shows starring Robert Carlyle as MacBeth. I've watched the first two series, and should have the third series from Netflix today. It's a quirky show about a small Scottish town in the Western Highlands, and the scenery is simply spectacular. The show is shot in the Lochalsh/Skye region of Western Scotland, and I'm strongly thinking about planning a trip there next summer. (Having spent a summer in Edinburgh, I wouldn't think about taking a walking trek In Scotland in the winter . . .).

This is my "to do" list for the weekend - most need no explanation:

walk
gym
bike
movies (I watched Michael Clayton last night)
knit
mani/pedi
em's photos (I told my niece I'd get her photos from NYC printed up)
beach
read
go to the office to pick up files to work at home on Monday

However, I'm setting my goals pretty low for this weekend . . .

and thanks to Edit, I may add baking red velvet cupcakes to the list.